installing new lateral adjustment lever on old stanley plane

[Mike Kees]

I have an old stanley #5 that I am rebuilding as a user. The lateral lever is missing. I have found a source on ebay for the lever the question is how to install it without breaking the frog casting. If anyone has a good way to do this please share it with me. Thanks,Mike

[Stew Denton]

Mike,

One of the tough things on this is finding good rivet material. Virtually everything I could find was too hard for good riveting material. If anyone knows of good riveting material, they should let us know.

Stew

[Trevor Goodwin]

I've used a copper rivet. Works alright.

[Eric Brown]

You can get round headed rivets at: http://www.mcmaster.com/#rivets/=14ihesd

[Ray Selinger]

I tried that on a 1924 Stanley and it shattered like glass. I was more successful on a mid 50s Stanley. So a 1924 plane has has a mid 50s frog now. It fits.

[Jim Koepke]

Somewhere in this thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?114373-Fettling-A-Plane-from-Junker-to-Jointer

replacing the lateral lever is covered.

If the replacement has a rivet included you should be alright as long as the frog isn't weak in the adjuster area.

Be very careful to only tap the rivet and not the frog.

If the rivet is too short to pean, than you will need to fabricate a replacement out of a soft material like aluminum or other soft metal.

jtk

[Mike Kees]

So a smaller ball peen hammer and go slow and very careful to only hit the rivet. That was my first idea,but I have not done this before.I wonder if you could squish the rivet with a vice or something ?

[steven c newman]

You could use a small bolt, with a head the size of the rivet. Place that bolt in the vise to act as an anvil. Hammer on the lever side. All hits will hit the rivet and the lever, not the cast iron frog. I think there are a type of pin punch out there, like a large nail set? Concave end on the punch to match the head of the rivet. Drive the punch to mushroom the rivet. With that bolt head as the anvil, not the vise itself.

Maybe get a CHEAP finish nail of the right diameter. I've bent way too many cheap ones to think that they are very hard. Snip off just enough below the nail's head. And hammer things in place
345518
Maybe find one of these "Riveting" hammers would help?

[Karl Andersson]

I've done it similarly to the way Steven describes (concave-headed bolt turning blank as an anvil), but only with re-used original rivets, spreading them with a pointed center punch. For a new rivet, you may want to look at the rivet punches and dies that Tandy and other leather places sell - that would be the concave punch Steven mentions.
Karl

[paul cottingham]

Personally, I would adjust the blade with a hammer. Easier, and more accurate to boot. Oh, and less farting about with rivets. :-)